Oil From Sanctioned Tanker Caroline Bezengi Nears Oman’s Turtle Coast

Oil from a grounded, sanctioned Russian ship is approaching Oman's protected Turtle Coast, with the slick growing and no salvage response more than two months after the ship wrecked.

The ship is the Caroline Bezengi. It struck the southwest tip of Jazirat Al Qibliyyah in the Hallaniyat Islands off the Dhofar coast in early June after an explosion. The cause is unclear. A mine or drone strike has been suggested but not confirmed. Crew came off without injury.

The Caroline Bezengi carries approximately one million barrels of Russian crude loaded at Novorossiysk, bound for Gujarat, India. It is sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland as part of Russia's shadow fleet for carrying oil that moves outside Western restrictions.

Since the grounding the oil has been spreading. The slick now reaches toward the Hallaniyat Islands Marine Reserve, a protected area sheltering green and loggerhead turtles, dolphins, whales, and coral reefs. Oman's government confirmed the spill and said it is working to contain it. Two months after the ship wrecked, no salvage operation has reached the site.